Area teams blistered at state tennis event

Jordan Menke was the only area singles player to advance at the state tennis tournament Wednesday.The three area teams won only a combined two of 15 first-round singles matches and one of six doubles matches at the FHSAA tennis tournaments.

The Riverview girls team is already back home in Sarasota after losing all five singles matches and both doubles on the first day of the Class 4A girls team tournament.

“I don’t know that that’s ever happened before,” said Riverview girls coach Kathy Holton Rosenberg, whose last six teams have qualified for the state tournament, a run highlighted by a Class 4A state runner-up finish two years ago. “I feel bad for the girls and they’re really disappointed, like they let the whole school down.

“It was a really hard thing to say to the girls, ‘We didn’t win, we have to go home today.’ ”

The Lemon Bay girls barely escaped the same fate in the 2A girls tournament, only because the team of Andrea Vorlicek and Maddie Cassad managed to win their No. 2 doubles quarterfinal to advance to today’s semifinal.

“That’s what happens when you get to this level,” said Lemon Bay coach Darrell Roach, who had hoped for a top-four finish but will likely settle for a tie for sixth place.

The Riverview boys lost four of their five singles and both first-round doubles.

“My boys competed to the best of their ability. The boys bracket was extremely strong this year,” said Riverview boys coach Holly Holton Moore.

In the Class 2A boys individual tournament, Booker sophomore and District 11 singles champion Michael Adler lost his first round match, 6-3, 6-2, to Dimitri Salzmann of Archbishop McCarthy.

Then in doubles, the Tornadoes’ district champion tandem of Adler and David Klos were beaten 6-0, 6-1 by Omar Dagani-Hunter Gees of Jacksonville Bolles.

That leaves Menke, the Rams’ undefeated senior No. 5 player, who took seven months off from tennis and did not pick up a racket until January.

He was dropped two spots from No. 3, where he had played in the Rams’ lineup the past three seasons.

Menke knocked off No. 2 seed Zach Martin of Winter Park, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 then got by Luis LaRiva of Spanish River, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals to set up a finals showdown with No. 1 seed Scott Plutt of Cypress Bay this morning.

“I definitely want to win. It’s my senior year,” he said. “I came in second place in my sophomore year. Hopefully this time I can pull it out.”

Vorlicek advanced to the semifinals at No. 4 singles, only to lose to top-seeded Madeline Benn of Gulliver Prep, in her fourth and final state tournament.